Ragnarok: Season 1 - all episodes

February 2, 2020 8:09 AM - Season 1 (Full Season)

You've got the strength, speed and senses of the gods. But that still doesn't help you when you're the new kid in town. (Netflix, Norwegian original, 6 episodes)

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posted by oh yeah! (13 comments total)

I thought this was not bad -- not great, and kind of a long set-up for a theoretical season 2. Magne is no Chris Hemsworth, but he's like the dictionary picture for "ya big lunk", Laurits is a good Loki, the scenery is beautiful, and the effects are effective.
posted by oh yeah! at 8:29 AM on February 2, 2020 [1 favorite]

6 episodes was just the right length for this. Pleasantly enjoyable, but it didn't leave me wanting a season 2.
posted by zinon at 7:26 AM on February 4, 2020

I wouldn’t mind seeing more of the Laurits/Loki perspective of the story though. Like, maybe not another 6 episodes-worth, but, I’m curious to know when/how Loki began to influence him. Because he really didn’t do much that couldn’t be read as normal sibling asshole-ery if Laurits alone had done it, like prank-calling Magne off the glacier, but more sinister/manipulative if Loki did it to get ‘Thor’ out of danger while dooming Isolde.

Loved his Constitution Day drag & speech though, that seemed like prime Loki behavior.
posted by oh yeah! at 9:26 AM on February 4, 2020

There did seem to be a gradual escalation of Laurits' Loki-ness. From the prank text, to the school dance, culminating in the Constitution Day speech. Seeming to indicate that he was mirroring Magne's transformation. But the ambiguity of it all is what I liked about it. I think anything definitively showing that Laurits was in fact Loki would have been be too much.
posted by zinon at 12:26 PM on February 4, 2020 [1 favorite]

I loved! this series and I'm looking forward to a second season.

Some thoughts:

-Your biggest impediments can be the people who love you and systems (supposedly) designed to help you. This can be by the loved ones and systems being manipulated but often just because they have a different view of the world.


-Small towns with a single dominant family are scary as hell even in Norway.


-It's hard to be a hero among people who know you. Related to that:


-Your biggest impediments can be the people who love you and systems (supposedly) designed to help you. This can be by the loved ones and systems being manipulated but often just because they have a different view of the world.


-Monsters have practically no need of super powers once they're ensconced as city leaders.


-Myth-making happens AFTER the fights. The battles themselves are messy and confusing.


-We need to get better at making memorable, mythic-level stories about modern heroes, and nevermind the realism.


Nitpicky question: Was it intentional that the English dubbing be in all different accents? Why were there accents?
posted by small_ruminant at 12:44 PM on February 11, 2020 [1 favorite]

Also, I'm a little annoyed at the emphasis on "teen" in the reviews that I've read. This doesn't seem any more "teen" than any of the myths I've read, and I've read hundreds.

If they're talking about relationships, I would argue that Ragnarok reliably puts relationships in service to the plot, not driving the plot. In every mythological context that I've read, gods, monsters, and humans all fall in love, out of love, have unrequited love, and even cheat. Things happen as a result. The only point of the teen-ness, so far as I can see, is that today's teens are like yesteryear's princesses: mostly powerless now, privileged in some specific ways (not having to earn a living, adults are supposed to protect you) but on the cusp of taking on adulthood. Princesses are irrelevant now as a symbol, but teens are very relevant.
posted by small_ruminant at 1:08 PM on February 11, 2020 [1 favorite]

I liked Isolde, wish she'd gotten more screen time and interaction with more of the other characters... perhaps in flashbacks or something, I guess. I would watch a season 2.

Also I'm glad to finally have the opportunity to apply the vocabulary word Dragestil, to the Jutuls' house.
posted by XMLicious at 6:51 PM on February 14, 2020 [2 favorites]

I enjoyed it. I've read my fair share of Norse mythology but I'm sure I was missing a lot, like, was the radio announcer supposed to be anyone in particular?
posted by The corpse in the library at 7:32 PM on March 1, 2020

Netflix just tweeted that there will be a second season of Ragnarok, so, that’s nice.
posted by oh yeah! at 1:46 PM on March 4, 2020 [2 favorites]

I got a feeling that Iman might be another god(let). The timing of her appearance and her magnetism made me wonder.
posted by Karmakaze at 8:05 AM on March 9, 2020 [5 favorites]

I liked this show a lot, though I was disappointed to see that they seem to be going with the "Thor and Loki as brothers" thing that comes from Marvel and not the actual myths. In those, Loki is Odin's blood-brother, not his adopted son, and he and Thor were mainly traveling companions and more-or-less friends. I will say, though, that the actor playing Laurits did a great job and if Marvel ever needs someone to play a "young Loki" for their movies or upcoming Loki series, they should at least give him a look ;)
posted by Kriselda at 5:08 AM on May 2, 2020 [4 favorites]

Loved it, wished there were more episodes though.

One thing I find interesting is the golden-haired girl that both Fjor and Magne love - Sif who is accused of once having had an affair with Loki, which I wonder is the translation of Fjor’s romance? Or perhaps it’s all just supposed to be echoes.
posted by corb at 3:16 PM on July 12, 2020

So... Anyone up for Season 2? Two eps in and it's shaping up well.
posted by small_ruminant at 11:48 PM on May 28, 2021